


Cast Out the Shadows

by LadyBinary



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Brainwashing, Emotional Manipulation, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mental Health Issues, Mind Control, Non-Sexual Intimacy, References to Depression, Religious Imagery & Symbolism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-13 19:27:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28658718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyBinary/pseuds/LadyBinary
Summary: There is nowhere His light cannot reach. Not even your darkest thoughts.(Gift/therapy-fic. Oneshot Prime/reader, addressing depressive spirals and negative self-talk.)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 19





	Cast Out the Shadows

The throne room is silent as you kneel before him. Silent, but for the beating of your nervous heart.

The private summons comes as no shock to you. You have known, _dreaded_ this moment would come - that your shadow-filled heart would inevitably draw his attention. Dark thoughts pull down your mind in constant spirals - _unworthy; useless; loathsome -_ yet, now, even the heaviest thoughts are outweighed by the Emperor’s gaze. 

You stare at the floor, at his robes, at his elegantly crossed legs; you dare not lift your eyes. The silence extends for an unbearable eternity of a moment. At last, his sonorous voice falls over your tense shoulders. “I have been monitoring you, my child.”

You swallow, readying yourself for his judgment. You wonder if you will be cast out, purged from the Horde as any shadow should be; or simply destroyed. 

“You sow disrespect towards one of My flock.” His words are quiet, eerily calm. “I will not allow such blasphemy to continue.” 

Confusion bubbles up through the dread. This is not the rebuke you were expecting. You have thought of a thousand reasons that your Brothers and Sisters might condemn you, but - disrespect? When have -

A broad hand reaches down from the throne, steel flashing before your eyes. Before you can react, the point of that terrifying metal claw is pressing up beneath your chin, forcing you to lift your eyes. His fourfold gaze meets yours, piercing, intense - eyes glowing from his shadowed face as he leans down towards you. 

“Those loyal to Me are beloved in My sight, and will be treated as such,” he continues, in a dangerously sharp murmur - enunciating the consonants of each word. Your confusion rises, a strange panic twisting in your gut, until the last words fall like lead weights:

“...Including yourself.”

Icy shards of understanding crystallize from the confusion. They sting behind your eyes and in your throat. You try to lower your face, swallowing the surge of shame, but the steel claw shifts; he grips your chin with a force just short of pain. 

“You dare doubt your worthiness, while in My favor?” The Prime’s voice rises, and for a moment, his eyes flash like lightning: “You _dare_ question the will of your God?” 

You wince reflexively, cringing in fear - and then, just as quickly, the harshness drops from his voice and grip, as if it were never there. His face shifts to a gentle, beatific smile. “My poor, misguided child, have faith... if not in yourself, then in Me. Let us cast out these shadows consuming your thoughts.”

The sudden softness in his smile is almost disconcerting; yet a part of you wants to cling to it, like a life raft in this storm of painful emotion. Your throat struggles to loosen itself. “Am… am I to be destroyed, Lord Prime?”

“I abhor such waste.” He huffs dismissively, withdrawing his hand. With a graceful shift, he uncrosses his legs and rises from the throne - standing over you at his towering, impossible height. “Rise, little one, and rejoice. There is _nowhere_ my Light cannot reach. Not even your own heart.” 

The hand reappears in front of you, expectant. Numbly, you take it, and allow him to lift you to your feet. It seems to take him no effort whatsoever to support your weight; your hand disappears in his, entirely wrapped in its warmth. Once steady, you dare to look up - up - _up -_ to his looming smile above. He has produced a small, flat device from his robes, hardly bigger than a coin, with metallic prongs like tiny needles emerging from one face. 

“With these new chips, I will deliver peace to the Universe,” he purrs. “...Beginning with you.” 

His hand releases yours, and moves to your face - cupping one side in a palm so huge it engulfs your peripheral vision - his fingers slide back behind your neck, gently drawing you closer to his massive frame - still smiling down at you - the huge hand supports your head as you start to tremble - “Hush, now, it’s all right…”

His other hand disappears behind your head. Claws brush through your hair, and down… and something flat presses against the back of your neck, just below your skull where his great hand holds you steady. 

_Click._

His Light flows into you - a river of it - an _ocean._ Its flood of warmth far outstrips the tendrils of pain that plunge into your spine and burrow deep into your nervous system. Your legs give way, but of course that hardly matters, not with his powerful arms wrapping around you to pull you close against his broad form. The deep resonance of his purr is so warm, so comforting, even as your thoughts are seared away in the all-consuming Light. 

All of the doubts, the shame, the agonies - with these shadows illuminated, you can finally see how _small_ they are, as they burn away to ash. So insignificant, so irrelevant in the face of His power. You wonder how such frivolous worries ever burdened you at all. Why would one doubt their place in His light? Why concern oneself with anything save carrying out His noble will? There is no _need_ for fear, or shame, or guilt - not when the blissful warmth of His presence fills your heart. It suffuses you, filling every corner and crevice and ragged edge, until even the ashes of the shadowed thoughts crumble to dust, then disintegrate into nothing at all. You sag into His arms, your body heavy, yet your heart breathlessly light.

“Rejoice, little one,” coos the Prime, stroking your hair. “Bear these burdens no longer.”

The throne room is silent as He holds you close. Silent, but for His purring, and the beating of your joyous heart. 


End file.
